Match Report

Hendon
0
Slough Town
0
Date:
Saturday 09 April 2005
Competition:
Isthmian League Premier Division
Attendance:
243
Venue:
TBA

Match Report

Hendon were held to a goalless draw by Slough Town at Claremont Road less than 43 hours after scoring twice late on to beat the same opponents 3-1 at their temporary Stag Meadow, Windsor, home. The Greens remain tenth in the Ryman League Premier Division table after Saturday afternoon's draw.

As goalless draws go, this was entertaining and if the game had ended all-square at 1-1 or 2-2, nobody would have complained about it.

There were a number of changes to the Greens' line-up with only Andrew Sherry holding his midfield place from Thursday: Marvyn Watson took over at full-back in place of Rob Courtnage (James Parker going to the left side), while James Burgess and Shayne Demetrious came in for Richard McDonagh and Dave Hunt; John Frendo, a Thursday goalscorer off the bench - his third in three appearances at Stag Meadow this season - also returned to the starting eleven, while on the bench came 17-year-old Bradley Bubb, one of the stars of Hendon's cup-winning Under-18s squad.

In the ninth minute, a header from Rene Street was helped goalwards by Eugene Ofori, who knocked the ball past Michael Parkin, but Ian Hodges produced an excellent goalline clearance for the Rebels. Steve McGrath's header from the next corner went wide.

Ofori looked the most dangerous player on the pitch and he set up Ross Pickett with a mazy run and astute pass in the 16th minute. However, the two-goal hero of Tuesday night scuffed his shot badly wide with a large part of the target to aim at.

Six minutes later, Slough showed their mettle in attack and Matt Murphy lost his marker at a corner, but could not direct his free header, the ball sailed high and wide of the goal.

Ofori then set-up Frendo after more good approach work. The finish, however, did not match the quality of Ofori's efforts as Parkin was again able to watch the ball sail away from the target.

Darron Wilkinson, booked after two clashes with John Frendo in the first five minutes, was then lucky to stay on the field after getting into a tangle with James Burgess.

In the last minute of the half, a skidding shot from Christian Metcalfe reared up just in front of Dave King, who was able to block the ball but not hold onto it. Dan Cann tried to knock in the rebound but missed the ball altogether.

Next to try his luck was Matt Murphy, but King parried that effort. A defender then denied Cann from this rebound, but the ball fell to Leigh Mason, three yards out. With almost all of the goal to aim at, he shot to the one place King could reach the and goalkeeper produced a miraculous save, pushing the ball out towards the corner flag and safety.

In the 62nd minute, Frendo fired over the bar from close range when a ball bounced to him off Parkin. The striker had no time to set himself for the shot, but careful placement would undoubtedly have brought better reward than the power option he took.

Danny Julienne had already replaced Sherry, when Bubb was introduced for Ofori with 20 minutes to go. The youngster almost made the most spectacular debut imaginable, but he dallied a moment too long and a desperate block from Steve Daly ensured his 20-yard drive went inches away from the angle of post and crossbar.

Jason O'Connor, Hendon's third substitute, also almost scored with his first touch of the game, but his effort narrowly missed the goal too.

Most of the play, however, was at the other end. Despite their exhaustion, Slough, playing their fourth game in seven days were the stronger team at the end of the game.

Their accuracy was little better than Hendon's. Both Michael and Matt Murphy put efforts on target, but they were both aimed directly at King, who had no difficulty in making either save. Other attempts were wayward and, in the end, both teams settled for the point.

"It is very hard to play the same team twice in three days," said manager Gary McCann. "The team that loses the first game knows what changes to make and to make things harder. That said, I thought we were as good as we have been for much of the first half. Only our finishing let us down."

Report by David Ballheimer

Hendon

1
Dave King
2
Marvyn Watson
3
James Parker
4
Rene Street
5
Steve McGrath
6
James Burgess
7
Shayne Demetrious
8
Andy Sherry
9
Ross Pickett
10
John Frendo
11
Eugene Ofori
12
Bradley Bubb
14
Rob Courtnage
15
Richard McDonagh
16
Jason O'Connor
17
Danny Julienne

Match Events

Danny Steer replaced Ian Hodges
46''
55''
Danny Julienne replaced Andy Sherry
70''
Bradley Bubb replaced John Frendo
78''
Jason O'Connor replaced Shayne Demetrious
Matt Miller replaced Daniel Cann
79''

Slough Town

1
Michael Parkin
2
Josias Carbon
3
Michael Murphy
4
Steve Daly
5
James Saulsbury
6
Ian Hodges
7
Darron Wilkinson
8
Leigh Mason
9
Daniel Cann
10
Matt Murphy
11
Christian Metcalfe
12
Matt Miller
14
Danny Steer
15
Sam Shepherd
16
Ryan Spencer
17
Veli Hakki